The implantation of a suburethral sling is an important treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). However, the slings used current have a number of inherent limitations, such as tissue rejection and infection. The present study investigated the potential of engineering sling tissue in vitro using adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). The ADSCs were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats and were characterized in vitro. The ADSCs were seeded on polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibers that formed a scaffold with a shape mimicking a sling complex. The results demonstrated that following in vitro culture for 12 weeks under static strain, neo-sling tissue could be generated using ADSCs. With increasing culture time, the engineered neo-sling tissue exhibited a significant improvement in biomechanical properties, including maximal load and Young's modulus (P<0.05), and the tissue and collagen structures matured. Furthermore, differentiated ADSCs cultured under static strain were maintained their myoblast phenotype within the PGA scaffolds. These results indicate that ADSCs may serve as a novel cell source for tissue sling engineering and could improve treatment for patients with SUI.
Experimental and therapeutic medicine. 2017 Jun 28 [Epub]
Ying Wang, Wei Wang, Xilong Wang, Yangyun Wang, Jihong Wang, Qiang Fu, Guowei Shi
Department of Urology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai 200240, P.R. China., Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, P.R. China.